Source: MYBERITA
By Anas Abu Hassan and Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani
KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 (Bernama) — The Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC) Leadership Council has outlined three key strategies to address the challenges arising in advancing the Islamic finance ecosystem in the country.
Chairman Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar said the council is working on mapping out the whole Islamic finance ecosystem for better understanding and creating solutions on how to address the challenges in the system.
He said since its establishment, MIFC Leadership Council has conducted 26 engagement sessions with different industry players from various sectors as well as regulators to understand the needs of the Islamic finance ecosystem.
“Eventually, we will land on 10 impact projects that will be rolled out within three to five years period so that the public and the market will see how to address sustainability and inequality in the system using Islamic finance principal and products,” he told Bernama on the sideline of Sasana Symposium 2023 organised by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) here today.
Azman said the council is also focusing on adopting the whole-of-nation approach in bringing the Islamic finance network together.
Additionally, he said the council is working on enhancing the current framework involving Islamic finance that has been put in place, which would need some intervention.
“For example, how to scale up the investment account. The framework is already there, however, we will need to work with industry players and regulators on some of the problems,” he said.
He said the Islamic finance system in the country already has a strong footing with over 40 years of experience since the establishment of Islamic banking systems such as Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd.
“We recognise that there are challenges in terms of bringing development to not just sectors that are covered by Islamic banking or conventional banking system, or the Sukuk market, but also the likes of entrepreneurs and solopreneurs.
“I believe challenges in Islamic finance are the same as the conventional banking system but we have an advantage of different solutions that are anchored on an ethical system because it is not just for Muslims but for all,” he added.
Established in October last year, the roles of the MIFC Leadership Council include providing thought leadership as well as driving strategy formulation and monitoring industry initiatives to solidify Malaysia’s leading position in Islamic finance.
The council, comprising prominent local and international industry figures as well as representatives from BNM and Securities Commission Malaysia serves as a platform to provide industry stewardship in enhancing Malaysia’s proposition as a global marketplace and an international gateway for Islamic finance.
— BERNAMA